Mother Monster at her Monster Ball

I just wanted to dedicate a post to the most iconic and most talked about woman in music today, whose picture currently covers most of my bedroom wall space. Lady Gaga, Mother Monster, Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (her real name) are a few of the titles this revolutionary performer is known by.

After a world famous first album ‘The Fame’ and a sellout Monster Ball Tour, Gaga has just released her highly anticipated second album ‘Born This Way’. Before its release Gaga made four tracks available to download to tease her fans. She headlined Radio 1s Live Weekend and HBO’s recording of her Monster Ball tour Live in Madison Square Garden has been repeated all over Sky Telvision over the last few weeks.

I have just been watching the recording, from her black and white backstage documentary sections to the bright lights of the stage. Gaga is a born performer. This show is the last of five in her home town and you can see it means the world to her. While in makeup she cannot hold back the tears, as after hearing the screams of the sold out arena she still, deep down feels like a loser and wants to be a winner for all her fans.

Gaga sends out two main messages with the Monster Ball: 1 – It will be a night to party hard and 2 – It will be a place where everyone; irrelevant of race, colour, gender, sexual or fashion preference, will be accepted.

The show is a mix of Gaga’s fantastic costume changes, weird set changes, imaginative props and instruments and amazing live musicians. We can all see that Gaga is a phenomenal front woman with her Andy Warhol yellow hair and bare bum cheeks. She has dared to be different with her thoroughly entertaining, theatrical show, with freakish costumes and wild backing dancers. In addition to all this glitter and epic chaos, there are moments to hear her fanatically raw, powerful pop voice, and watch a superbly talented songwriter sit at her piano, and do what she does best.

When Gaga constantly address’s her fans as ‘Monsters’, we see that she lives and breathes for the music and for them. She is very loud and very crude but screaming with pride that she beat all the negativity and came out on top. Her anecdotes of always dreaming of headling Madison Square Garden are heartfelt and powerful. She wants to instill her new found confidence into her fans and inspire them to be great.
In her minimal clothes and bare skin she has made it. She is one of a kind and was born that way.

Go Mother Monster!
PUT YOUR PAWS UP!

Sienna and Sheridan= Two Talented Sweethearts

I was lucky enough to attend a Masterclass on Thursday with Sienna Miller and Sheridan Smith at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, discussing their current roles in Flare Path by Terrance Rattigan. I had not seen the play, neither had my friend who joined me, however this did not detract at all from the pleasure of the afternoon. (We are now looking for cheap last minute tickets before the run ends in 4 weeks!

Matt Wolf, all round theatre critic, author and university lecturer interviewed the ladies about the play and then opened up the conversation to the packed stalls of the theatre. These included a mix of aspiring actors, theatre fanatics and personal twitter fans of the two actresses. All were thoroughly entertained by these two remarkable young women who claimed to be shocked that they were giving a ‘masterclass’, because they didn’t feel they had enough knowledge or experience to coach others.

Sheridan has a hugely successful Televison career and an Olivier for Legally Blonde to boot, yet she constantly maintained that she ‘blags it’ and is always scared her unorthodox technique might be discovered! While Sienna Miller who has a thriving film career and two other theatre credits under her belt, claimed that she does not have the bold confidence she once had when she first set out as an actress.

While being unbelievable modest, these two ladies could not hide their inner nerves at being confronted with an audience and no character to play. They acted like giggling school friends, holding hands and sharing secrets and it was marvellous to watch. Both answered the audience’s questions with ease and gave genuine advice from their experiences. As an aspiring actress myself, it was truly rewarding to see that these two talented actresses were, by their own admission; very lucky and often in the right place at the right time, but also friendly, approachable and completely humble about their own success.

Although surprising, it was comforting to realise that all people famous or not, have insecurities, times of doubt and often need reassurance of their brilliance. It is easy to watch an actor play a character on stage or in a film and forget that they are real people who lead normal lives. (well, maybe not normal!)
Even though, both women dealt with the task at hand and their nerves quite differently; (Sienna played with her gorgeous hair frivolously as she talked and Sheridan had to pop to the toilet in the middle of the session!) they both excelled in the moment and without realising it, provided much entertainment and inspiration to all.

I can only hope that their success continues and that I get that chance to work with these talented ladies when I am in the right place at the right time. They may have both had bad reviews in the past, but they get five stars from me


The Masterclasses ‘offer free talks and workshops with leading professionals, to anyone aged 17-30.’ Sign up here: http://www.masterclass.org.uk/index.php